BILL NUMBER: AB 510	CHAPTERED  10/10/99

	CHAPTER   826
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   OCTOBER 10, 1999
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR   OCTOBER 8, 1999
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY   SEPTEMBER 9, 1999
	PASSED THE SENATE   SEPTEMBER 8, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   SEPTEMBER 3, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   AUGUST 17, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   JULY 8, 1999
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   MAY 6, 1999
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   APRIL 6, 1999

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Wright

                        FEBRUARY 18, 1999

   An act to amend and repeal Section 11265.1 of, to add Section
18910 to, and to repeal, add, and repeal Section 11265.2 of, the
Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to public social services.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 510, R. Wright.  Public social services:  recipient reporting.
   Existing law contains recipient reporting requirements for the
California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs)
program and the federal Food Stamp Program.
   This bill would revise and recast recipient interview and
reporting provisions under these programs, including timelines for
the required frequency of reports.  The bill would generally reduce
the frequency of reports, but require recipients to report certain
changes in information that affects the recipient's eligibility under
these programs.  Implementation of these new requirements would be
phased in, as prescribed, with the new CalWORKs provisions being
repealed on January 1, 2005.
   Because the bill imposes certain requirements on each county, the
bill would constitute a state-mandated local program.
  The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state.  Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Section 11265.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
   11265.1.  (a) Except as provided in Section 11265.5, in addition
to the requirement for the annual redetermination of eligibility, the
department shall establish regulations consistent with federal law
to implement a recipient monthly reporting system for use in
determining monthly eligibility and the amount of the grant.  The
department shall define what constitutes a complete report and shall
specify the deadlines for submitting a complete report, as well as
the consequences of, and good cause for, failure to submit a complete
report.  The department shall adopt fair and equitable regulations
implementing the monthly reporting requirement.
   (b) This section shall become inoperative on the date that the
director executes a declaration stating that Section 11265.2, as
added by the act adding this subdivision, is fully implemented
statewide, and shall be repealed on January 1 of the year following
the year in which it becomes inoperative.
  SEC. 2.  Section 11265.2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
  SEC. 3.  Section 11265.2 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
   11265.2.  (a) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
commencing July 1, 2000, subject to the agreement of the local
district attorney, Los Angeles County and up to eight counties
selected by the department may implement this section.
   (2) Subject to paragraph (3) and notwithstanding any other
provision of law, all counties that have not implemented this section
pursuant to paragraph (1) may begin implementation of this section
on January 1, 2004, and shall complete implementation of this section
no later than January 1, 2005.  This paragraph shall become
inoperative on January 1, 2004.
   (3) Counties participating in the eligibility simplification
project under Section 11265.6 may delay implementation of this
section until the expiration of the eligibility simplification
project if implementation of this section would be inconsistent with
the federal approval of the eligibility simplification project.
   (4) On or before January 1, 2003, the department shall evaluate
the impact of this section in a sufficient number of participating
counties to reliably describe this section's impact.  The department
shall collaborate with the Office of Criminal Justice Planning in
conducting the program integrity aspects of this evaluation.
   (b) Each county shall conduct an annual eligibility
redetermination.  A county shall be required to have a face-to-face
interview with the recipient at the redetermination, unless the
recipient has regular contact with the county through CalWORKs or
other similar programs.  Subsequent face-to-face interviews for any
recipient for purposes related to verification of eligibility or the
provision of CalWORKs services may be conducted at the county's
discretion.
   (c) Each county shall redetermine the financial eligibility of
each recipient on a quarterly basis.
   (d) (1) A recipient shall report, in writing, to the county within
10 days any change in resources, his or her household's monthly
income, including source of income, his or her address, or the
composition of his or her household if the report would be required
under the federal food stamp reporting requirement for nonmonthly
reporting households.  The county shall recalculate an assistance
unit's grant level only upon the report of any required change,
provided that the department obtains the appropriate waiver, as
specified in subdivision (i).  If the United States Department of
Agriculture denies this waiver, counties shall recalculate an
assistance unit's grant level based upon any reported changes.
   (2) Each quarter the recipient shall complete a quarterly report
which shall be signed under penalty of perjury.  The report shall
include all information necessary from the quarterly report month to
determine financial eligibility.
   (3) For each of the first two months covered by the quarterly
report, the recipient shall state whether there was any income, and
for each type of reportable change listed in paragraph (1), other
than a change of address, whether such a change occurred, and if so,
whether the change was reported in writing.  If the recipient states
that a reportable change occurred during the first two months covered
by the quarterly report and was not reported in writing or the
county has no record that a recipient made a written report, it shall
require that the information that should have been reported pursuant
to paragraph (1) be reported in writing and under penalty of perjury
within 10 days of receiving notice from the county.  A failure to
provide the report required by this paragraph within the 10-day
period shall result in a termination of benefits, after receiving
notice from the county as required by state and federal law.
   (4) (A) If the recipient fails to submit a quarterly report by the
date prescribed by the department, the county shall provide the
recipient with a notice, as required by the department, that the
county will terminate benefits.
   (B) Prior to terminating benefits, the county shall attempt to
make personal contact to remind the recipient that a completed report
is due, or, if contact is not made, shall send a reminder notice to
the recipient.
   (C) Any discontinuance notice shall be rescinded and aid shall be
restored if the report is received by the first working day of the
month for which aid is paid based on submission of the quarterly
report.
   (e) In recalculating the amount of a recipient's grant pursuant to
this section, including the timing and provision of any
supplementary payment, changes in the grant amount shall be made on a
prospective basis pursuant to food stamp regulations for nonmonthly
reporting households.
   (f) Counties shall provide a mechanism for recipients to retain
written documentation of the contents of the report, pursuant to
minimum standards established by the department.
   (g) The department shall define what constitutes a complete
report, and shall specify the deadlines for submitting a complete
report, as well as the consequences of, and good cause for, failure
to submit a complete report.
   (h) In determining overpayments and underpayments, the county
shall use the federal food stamp regulations that are used to
determine overissuances and underissuances for nonmonthly reporting
households.
   (i) The department shall seek all necessary waivers from the
United States Department of Agriculture to conform the Food Stamp
Program requirements to the provisions of this section and to
increase the income reporting amount for nonmonthly reporting
households to one hundred dollars ($100).
   (j) Notwithstanding the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of
the Government Code), until January 1, 2001, the department may
implement a reporting and budgeting system, as described in this
section, through an all county letter or similar instructions from
the director.
   (k) The department shall adopt regulations to implement this
section no later than January 1, 2001.  Emergency regulations adopted
for implementation of the applicable provisions of this section may
be adopted by the director in accordance with the Administrative
Procedure Act.  The initial adoption of emergency regulations and one
readoption of these regulations shall be deemed to be an emergency
and necessary for immediate preservation of the public peace, health
and safety, or general welfare.  Initial emergency regulations shall
be exempt from review by the Office of Administrative Law.  The
emergency regulations authorized by this section shall be submitted
to the Office of Administrative Law for filing with the Secretary of
State and shall remain in effect for no more than 180 days.
   (l) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2005, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute
that is enacted on or before January 1, 2005, extends or deletes
that date.
  SEC. 4.  Section 18910 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
   18910.  To the extent permitted by federal law, regulations,
waivers, and directives, the department shall conform food stamp
requirements to the requirements specified in Section 11265.2, except
that subparagraph (B) of paragraph (4) of subdivision (d) of Section
11265.2 shall not apply to food stamp recipients who do not receive
cash assistance under the CalWORKs program.
  SEC. 5.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because
this act provides for offsetting savings to local agencies or school
districts that result in no net costs to the local agencies or school
districts, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government
Code.
